FOR YOUR HEART-BOOM

☆Ch21

"You alright?" Sticks asked her blue companion while handing him a towel to dry his fur and already worked on drying her own fur due to the wild rain they had to run through from the village all the way to Sticks' shack.
"I'm fine," Sonic growled, still bitter about the villagers being so stupid and daring to cast out someone, who uses his powers mostly for good and saves their sorry butts. He couldn't believe, how unfair they could turn only because of one mistake. He accepted the towel from her and started drying himself with it, a permanent scowl remained on his face.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I am sure we will find a way, how to be accepted again. They can't just kick us out," Sticks tried to help him feel better, but it worked only partially.
"As you can see, Sticks, they can!" Sonic glared at her, but the badger didn't get fazed by it, only shrugged in response.
"If we let them, then yes," she deadpanned and Sonic just then realized, that she's right. If they let the villagers ban them from the village, then nothing was going to change at all.

"You've... got a point, I guess," Sonic resignated and once he finished drying, he hung the towel in her makeshift bathroom. He wondered, how she could live like this for the whole time, but it seems like the badger was born to live such half-wild life and thus was used to it. Sonic returned to the center of her shack and sat down on a couch she had there, actually a gift from Amy. Sticks followed suit, sitting right next to him she lifted her legs and crossed them before resting her elbows on her knees and supporting her chin with her hands.
"Hey, uh... Sticks?" she could hear the male's nervous tone, which made her lift her head and look at him with raised eyebrow.
"Hmm?"
"Heh, promise me to not panic," Sonic fiddled with his thumbs nervously while looking down, actually wanting to tell her the truth about him and Shadow, because he, honestly, couldn't hide it forever.

"Depends on what you're going to say," she replied carefully, her curiousness peaked.
"Heh, well, y-ya know, how I used that perfume back during the Fuzzy Puppies day?" he started somehow, Sticks nodded, now getting theories in her head.
"Okay, so, uh... truth to be told, i-it was actually a scent I used t-to... well, to make you stop sniffing around, because..." he paused for a bit and licked his suddenly very dry lips. Sticks was tensed now and even stood up while watching him intensively, getting a VERY bad theory in her head now.
"Because?" she encouraged him to go on.
"How to say it nicely, heh, well... me and Shadow-" Sticks' loud gasp cut him off and he could see her widening her eyes in pure horror as she gripped the sides of her head and started panicking.
"HE CONTROLS YOUR MIND!" she exclaimed, which irritated the blue hedgehog.
"Sticks! He doesn't! Can you at least let me finish what I was going to say?!" he exclaimed as well, not necessarily shouting, but it was enough for him to regain her attention. Once he was sure, that Sticks was listening, he continued.
"Over the weeks, me and Shadow got into a sort of close relation with each other and it was his scent you could smell on my bandana back then, when you first sniffed me. I was scared exactly of you reacting like this, so I rather tried to hide it," he finally explained with Sticks actually listening carefully this time.
"Oh- so, he isn't trying to manipulate you or something?"
"NO! Ngh, Sticks, Shadow is much different from how you and the others see him! Trust me! During all these days he actually... he made me feel actually happy and... heh, l-loved too," Sonic averted his gaze in the end of the sentence while nervously rubbing his neck. Sticks took the words in and slowly digested them, as she now thought about it all. Was Sonic truly not under any manipulation from the ebony hybrid's side?
"Loved?" she finally spoke up a few moments of silence later and tilted her head, getting a quick nod from her companion as an answer.
"Wow. How long are you, guys, like this then?" she asked calmly, still trying her best not to create any weird theories in her head about the ebony male, who actually terrified her due to how dark he was, personality-wise.
"I told you, it's been going on for weeks. We kept meeting each other in private, not wanting anyone to find out. Or well, I already told Amy and a bit to Tails as well, now also you. I just... I myself want my friends to know, but he is stubborn and does not wish any of you to know about it, so, please, keep this a secret, okay?" he finally glanced up at his friend with pleading expression in his eyes, which Sticks just couldn't resist.
"You have my word," the badger smiled at him and placed her hand on his shoulder for support.